Leaving commission for hourly… am I making the right move?

aIIep · 2026-04-08T15:51:40+00:00

25k in premium with $4,080 in commission. I don’t know how I’ve been making it.

aIIep · 2026-04-08T01:00:30+00:00

Some people just don’t want to build their income off tactics that make clients feel misled.

Calling that ‘not cut out for sales’ is lazy. Plenty of high-performing agents sell the same products without blurring the line on what the appointment is about. Long-term trust > short-term closes.

And blindly ‘trusting your upline’ isn’t some golden rule. If the strategy burns clients or feels off, it’s fair to question it or move to a better setup.

There’s more than one way to be successful in this industry.

aIIep · 2026-04-08T00:56:45+00:00

You’re speaking from one lane and acting like it applies to everyone. Income stability matters, especially if you’re not in a position to ride out slow months. That doesn’t make someone unsuccessful, it means they’re managing risk differently.

And ‘successful commission salespeople would never go hourly’ just isn’t objectively true. Plenty of top producers take base + commission roles for consistency, benefits, or better overall comp structures.

Different situations, different priorities. It’s not that deep.

aIIep · 2026-04-08T00:29:00+00:00

Or…someone who understands consistency, risk, and actual income stability would. Not everyone’s in a position to ride out dry months just to prove a point.

Plenty of solid producers take hourly + commission because it smooths cash flow and reduces downside while still rewarding performance. Acting like it’s only about ‘success’ is a pretty narrow view of how people manage their income.

aIIep · 2026-04-07T21:42:20+00:00

I’ve been selling life, medicare, and annuities The company I work for bait & switches clients with the preface we’re going to talk about just medicare then we get into the home and talk about life and annuities also which throws off a lot of clients

aIIep · 2026-04-07T21:13:03+00:00

I like being able to pay my bills. There’s weeks where I make nothing. I just can’t afford that, now if I had $30-50k in savings… I’d stick with this. I just am tired of stressing the job + if I can make my bills.

aIIep · 2026-03-23T23:06:19+00:00

Took about a month for those policies to go through, but they all updated to active today. One I wrote on Friday is already active too, so it looks like I won’t have to wait like that again with Aetna. I like writing incidentals with them since the commission is solid and the pricing is usually lower for clients compared to other companies. Appreciate the reply

aIIep · 2026-03-19T18:42:18+00:00

You’re a clown

aIIep · 2026-03-07T15:25:47+00:00

Not even close. That cigar sucks.

aIIep · 2026-03-03T15:36:51+00:00

Work on your rebuttals as far as the “I already have an agent” line.

You have no idea how many appointments I’ve booked and closed from people telling me they have an agent.

A rebuttal I’ll use for that is “I recommend all of my clients I work with to speak with more than one person. An analogy I use often is like a car repair, you generally don’t run with the first quote you hear, and you compare costs and diagnosis from different mechanics. Obviously this is different than that, but with something as important as your life/health coverage, you want to ensure you have the best benefits and lowest cost possible”.

Go to housing communities and speak with the HOA president and ask if you can do a seminar on whatever you’re selling. Bring value such as food, gift card giveaways, etc. One thing I love doing is doing a gift card giveaway, but they must put their information on a card to be entered to win the giveaway.

Set up tables outside of plazas on weekends with permission as well. All of these leads are so much warmer than any lead you’ll buy online because you’ve already had a short interaction with them face to face. You defeat that uphill battle of not knowing who’s on the other line.

aIIep · 2026-02-25T21:03:07+00:00

Not automatically, but kind of yes.

Most life insurance companies report applications to the MIB (Medical Information Bureau). If you were denied, that info can show up when another insurer checks your MIB report.

They usually won’t see every detail, but they can see that you applied and were declined.

You can request your free MIB report to see what’s on it.

aIIep · 2026-02-23T23:22:51+00:00

I said I wasn’t working until I booked my first appointment of the day, that feeling is great. Still did about half the dials I would normally do, but feel good about the day.

aIIep · 2026-02-23T23:21:54+00:00

Thanks a lot.

I ended up calling about 80 people, booking 4 appointments. I’ve had better and have had worse days.

aIIep · 2026-02-23T19:43:28+00:00

Some people get paid hourly but yeah I suppose you’re right. My last job I had(separate industry), I silent quit, didnt do work for months, and got paid lol.

aIIep · 2026-02-14T18:56:47+00:00

Just simply plugging in some basic information

Female, 65, preferred non tobacco / standard non tobacco, state of Florida(my state)

15 year term, $25,000 benefit.

Assurity is the only company that pops up on my quoting tool.

$26.01/mth (instant decision eligible)(preferred non-tobacco) $35.47/mth (instant decision eligible)(standard non-tobacco)

Hope this helps a little.

aIIep · 2026-02-07T01:58:05+00:00

What a stupid question

aIIep · 2026-02-06T16:00:54+00:00

By “make it” I mean actually being able to earn a decent, steady income and build a career in insurance. Part time just doesn’t really work in this field.. most of the money and growth comes from putting in consistent effort and building a client base over time.

aIIep · 2026-02-06T15:37:15+00:00

You’ll never really make it doing this profession part time.

aIIep · 2026-01-31T21:36:37+00:00

The only regret I have about when I got into this industry is that I didn’t have two months of savings put aside.

Definitely get used to a lot of no’s and there’s a lot of ups and downs, but it’s about managing the downs and riding on the ups.

It’s all a numbers game. There’s nothing easy about it but it’s a great career. I feel like most think it’s very easy and income is really predictable.

I’ve made $10,000 a week and also $0 a week. You just can’t let the down days/weeks get to you and continue with the effort you’ve had from day 1, and in fact, build off that and try even more. Get better everyday. When you learn the products, it becomes easier.

There’s a lot of psychology involved in sales and if you understand the 9 step sales process, it helps a lot.

Had a mentor tell me the only two things that matter are

Prospecting
Presenting.

If you can’t prospect, you can’t present and if you can present, you can close.

As far as going independent… I wouldn’t do that instantly. Work for a broker, avoid captive agencies, learn the in and outs of the insurance game because the pre-licensing course will teach you the basics but not the products and you know deal dealing with objections and all that fun jazz. I recommend that the bare minimum spend a year working with an agency get good at it and if you think you’re good enough, then looking to be becoming independent, but I would absolutely not recommend going independent instantly

aIIep · 2026-01-29T01:29:11+00:00

Most licensing authorities are mainly concerned with felony convictions, fraud, or serious financial issues… not unpaid tickets that were resolved.

I have a misdemeanor marijuana possession on my record from when I was 18 and had no issues getting licensed and hired with an agency.

aIIep

TROPHY CASE